Blog: Theater Profile

For this project blog, I decided to research on The Goodman Theater in Chicago. The Goodman Theater was established on July 1922 and has been connected to Chicago for about 80 years now. A couple named William and Erna Goodman created this theater in memory of their son Kenneth who had passed away. Before Kenneth had passed away, he had written and published many plays that were non-production. On October 20, 1925 The Goodman Theater opened to the community where three of Kenneth’s plays were introduced as dedication of his remembrance. This theater had opened its door for others who enjoyed being surrounded by drama and professional acting. Also along with the new opening, a man named Thomas Woods Steven took the role as the theater’s first artistic director.

For five years, Steven led the The Goodman Theater in the right direction until he was resigned and a man named Hubert Osbourne took over. Hubert Osbourne took charge of the theater for about year until the Art Institute decided that the professional acting was no longer to take place in the theater, just drama. After Osbourne was gone Maurice Gnesin and his fellow colleague David Itkin ran The Goodman Theater for 27 years. These two had made a great reputation for the theater and also introduced children’s theater. Once Gnesin and Itkin weren’t able to work anymore, their positions were given up to a man named Max Reich. Max Reich was a legendary director, but before he started working at The Goodman he suggested that the professional acting should be reconsidered. For 10 years Reich worked hard to rebuild the professional acting by attracting attention of the theater to others especially stars. In 1972 John was resigned and new director named Ken Myers took over. Ken did not stay long, after a year he resigned himself. So in 1973, William Woodman took the role as the new director and worked hard as a director for over 5 years then resigned. After resigning Gregory Mosher was chosen to be the next artistic director. Gregory Mosher brought much new work into the theater such as plays by Nobel Prize winners and many other plays. The Goodman had then replaced Gregory Mosher with a younger much wiser man named Robert Falls. Robert had made many excellence changes in the theater. He was known for bringing in many world premieres and transferring Goodman’s production over to other theaters. Around the 1980’s, The Goodman Theater had been starting to age and many individuals felt it was time to rebuild it. In the 1990’s a site was found and they started to rebuild the theater. Since the theater has come a long way, everyone decided to keep the theater the same name in remembrance of the Goodman’s. In December 2000, the new and improved Goodman Theater doors were opened.

The mission statement for The Goodman Theater is that it’s one of the largest but oldest non- profit theaters. It has excellent community and educational programs and a diversity of artistic leaderships. Goodman Theater is known to produce both contemporary and classic works by giving a full voice of wide ranges of visions and artists. These theater artist have given Goodman an artistic identity with three guiding principles; quality, community, and diversity. This theater seeks to be the leader of cultural organization by providing programs and productions to create an important contribution to the quality of life in Chicago.

The Goodman Theater is theater that provides free programs for anyone who loves theater. The Student Subscription Series will give the chance of 2,700 Chicago high school students the opportunity to show up and watch free performances and shows that are post-show discussions. For each summer a program called, the General Theatre Studies will take in students that are 14 to 19 in age. This program made up of 6 week intensive theater training. Young ladies who are juniors in high school are qualified for the program Cindy Bandle Young Critics. This program is combined with the Goodman Theater and the Association for Women Journalists. Within this program these young ladies will be provided with training in theater and mentoring professional journalist. These ladies may also have the possible opportunity to interview stage stars.

The Goodman Theater has many programs that are available for young high school students, but they also provide an internship program. This internship program is for college students who are trying to pursue their professional career in theater. The internships that are offered are in Costumes, Education and Community Engagement, Marketing/Publicity/PR, Production Management, Sound, Stage Management, Props/Scenery, and Video Production. These students must be at least 18 years of age and able to work with challenges.

When I was deciding what company, I looked over the list that was given and the first company that was brought to my attention was The Goodman Theater in Chicago. This company appeals to me because I am a fan of the city Chicago. My lifelong dream is to one day live in Chicago and work as marketer in a fashion company. I didn’t know much about the Goodman Theater when I first saw the name, I just loved that it was in Chicago. After research and reading more about The Goodman Theater, I had become much interested in what it was all about. It’s a theater that brings individuals in to express their selves, but also giving them a chance to make a career out of it. With theaters like The Goodman Theater, many individuals will be able to make their dreams come true.